Spotted

One of the greatest reasons to internet date is that I get to meet all kinds of people I’ve never met, and will probably never meet outside of our double-blind, top-secret codenamed online dating universe. Online dating doesn’t just expand my pool of prospective partners, it gives me a whole new pool. Or it’s supposed to. 

I just checked my email and found that a classmate from my high school had found me. I was discovered-- exposed. Now someone from the real world knew that I was looking for dates in the digital world. It felt like running into an acquaintance in the “family planning” section at WalMart. Eek! Stay calm, I thought. Reno’s a small town. It makes sense. I probably just came up in his matches-- it happens to the best of us. He probably just enjoyed a little chuckle and we will both pretend like it never happened. It’s all going to be okay.

Except that it’s not-- because he saw my profile and clicked “Yes, I’m interested!” 

Holy hell. I really don’t think it’s possible he didn’t recognize me. I’m not one of those people who has changed since high school. I look exactly the same as I did when I was eighteen. And my screen name has a recognizable section of my first name in it. Nope, there’s no escaping it. I’ve been spotted.